Sunday 4 November 2012 18.31 EST
First published on Sunday 4 November 2012 18.31 EST

Sharp disagreements arose on Sunday on the first day of a Syrian opposition conference in Qatar meant to forge a more cohesive leadership that the international community says is necessary before it will boost its support for those trying to overthrow the country's president, Bashar al-Assad.

The main opposition group in exile, the Syrian National Council, balked at a US-backed plan that would largely sideline it to make room in a new leadership council for fighters and activists inside Syria. But with international pressure mounting, the SNC also suggested it was willing to negotiate a compromise that would give it more influence in a new leadership team.

The international community has long urged the SNC, widely seen as dysfunctional and out of touch, to broaden its base and include a greater spectrum of Syrian society, especially those fighting inside the country. Last week, the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, was unusually harsh, suggesting the SNC's leadership days are over.

Failure to reach a deal in Doha could further heighten tensions between Syria's political opposition and the international community. Opposition leaders feel abandoned by the US and other foreign backers, saying they are not providing the money and weapons the rebels need to defeat Assad in a civil war. Washington and others say they cannot step up aid unless the opposition stops bickering and establishes a more representative – and unified – leadership.

The conflict erupted nearly 20 months ago as a peaceful uprising that escalated into a civil war and has claimed more than 36,000 lives, according to a tally by activists.

At the Doha conference, the SNC will have to decide whether to accept a plan proposed by a prominent dissident, Riad Seif, to set up a new leadership group of about 50 members. The SNC would get about 15 seats, meaning its influence would be diluted, while military commanders and local leaders in rebel-held areas would win wider representation.

Seif said his plan had broad international backing and portrayed it as a stepping stone to more robust foreign aid.

SNC chief Abdelbaset Sieda dismissed Seif's optimism, saying he and others in the group no longer trusted promises of international support linked to restructuring of the opposition.

"We faced this situation before, when we formed the SNC," he said. "There were promises like that, but the international community in fact did not give us the support needed for the SNC to do its job."

The SNC is to decide on Wednesday whether to accept Seif's plan. Sieda said the SNC believed it deserved at least 40% of the seats should it decide to join the new group, suggesting the group may have decided it is under too much pressure to reject the plan entirely.

In Cairo, Lakhdar Brahimi, the UN-Arab League envoy to Syria, met Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, but they differed in their assessments.

Brahimi called the situation deplorable, adding: "The solution will either be a political one that all sides agree on, or the future of Syria is very bad."

Lavrov blamed the Syrian opposition for not accepting a ceasefire proposal that left the door open for a transitional period with Assad still in power.

The Arab League scheduled a special session of its Syria committee for 12 November.